Uh-oh! Cash for Clunkers has officially ended; did you make your move? CARS was a program for people to trade in their used, old, beat up gas guzzlers for a more gas efficient one. They could receive up to a $4,500 credit towards a new purchase of a car. CARS stands for Car Allowance Rebate System. Some of the rules to qualify for the CARS program are that the car must be at least a year 2008 model or newer, can’t cost more than $45,000, and be purchased between July 1, 2009 and November 1, 2009. Your clunker has to be drivable and the name of the person on the title of the clunker car has to be the same person who is buying the new car. There are more rules and regulations that you need to qualify for before you can just go out and get this $4,500 rebate on a new car purchase.
According to the CARS website, the program has offered an economic boost to car dealers, the auto manufacturers, and the people who provide consumer loans and the scrap yards. But, if you have been following the news lately you would have been hearing that your time has run out and the CARS allowance has expired. There were some rumors going around that they ran out of money almost as soon as they began and that this offer was no longer available as of a few weeks ago. However, White House officials said that they were going to review their options to keep it going. The original budget for this program $1 billion. When I was looking on Yahoo for some facts about the program I found out that just at the end of July, only a month into it, there had already been 22,782 clunkers purchased with almost $96 million spent. As of now the money is GONE and your chance is GONE as well.
Now is the time I wish I drove a clunker just for the pure fact of getting a new car! Of course, a new car wouldn’t come for free. It seems like a great deal that the government will give you up to $4,500 to buy a new car. However, the question is how many people are taking this opportunity without realizing that they will have to spend money…money they might not have. This maybe the season to invest in a town truck to start repossessing all the cars people are buying without being able to actually pay for them.
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Annie,
ReplyDeleteWhen I heard about this deal with getting money for clunkers, I wished I had driven one that I could sell, but after reading your blog, I changed my mind. Driving a car with better gas mileage would be great, but the price of buying a new car still plays a part in the process. You mentioned that people received $4,500 for their clunkers. Even though that seems like a great deal, anyone would still need to pay a substantial amount for a better car. I completely agree with you that people may not have the rest of the money to pay for a new car. The number of people that took advantage of this deal is unreal. After learning more about it, I'm glad to drive the car that I do.
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ReplyDeleteAnnie-
ReplyDeleteGood blog topic. Cash for Clunkers is all I hear about lately. Glad to know it's coming to and end, though, so I don't have to hear about it so much anymore. I am in complete agreement with your ending sentence. It's quite clever, but actually quite true. From the moment I heard about what I think is a crazy idea, I didn't like it. Yes, I wished I drove a clunker for the first five minutes of learning about CARS, but then I realized, I don't have the money to buy a new car, and in a depressed economy, who does?! I think that unless someone was already planning on buying a new car and has a clunker that is worth well under $4,500, this program is just a failed attempt to try and stimulate the economy but a success at slowly turning America into a socialist nation. By the way, I heard that there is going to be another program like this, only with washing machines...It would be intersting to see what that's like. :)
This topic has always interested me and I'm glad somebody blogged about it. Sadly, I drive a clunker. I do however, love my clunker. It's a trusty, rusty pickup that runs better than my first car ever has. I'm not getting rid of my clunker until it dies! A new car always sounds nice, but knowing my taste, it would probably cost more than $4,500 anyways. If the Cash for Clunkers had a a better deal where I could just trade my vehicle in, then I would think about it. But nothing comes for free right? Washing machines would be pretty cool. I'm actually excited to see what they come up with next dealing with this same concept.
ReplyDeleteI have had some of the same misgivings about the CARS program since first hearing about it! It made me nervous to think of all the people that were going to trade in their clunkers for a brand new vehicle with low mileage and a high payment. Not to lump everyone together, because I know everyone’s circumstances are slightly different, but there was probably a reason that person was driving a clunker in the first place.
ReplyDeleteA great example is my boyfriend’s car; while not a complete clunker, it has certainly seen its better days. However, he did not go out and take advantage of this program, because he knows that the higher car payments and the higher insurance premiums that would come with it are just not in his budget right now.
In theory, this Cash for Clunkers deal sounded like a really good idea. And for the environment and some people, it probably was. However, as you mentioned, the problem with it is that it ends up costing way more than some people may realize. My family has never bought a new car and I will likely follow this practice. Usually, you can get a slightly used vehicle that runs great and could last just as long as a new car at a price that is much more reasonable.
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